Crisper pan structure



Jan. 12, 1954 H. w. WHITMORE 2,665,817

CRISPER PAN STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 23, 1950 FIG.I.

K/ FIG-6.

2 Sheets-Sheet l IN V EN TOR.

HARLAND W.WH|TMORE BY Jan. 12, 1954 H. w. WHITMORE' 2,665,817

CRISPER PAN STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 23, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

HARLAND w. WHITMORE ATTORNEYS FIG.5.

Patented Jan. 12, 1954 CRISPEE PAN STRUCTURE Harland W. Whitmore, Kenosha, to Motor Products Corporation,

Wis., assignor Detroit, Mich.,

a; corporation of New York l plication October 23, 1950, Serial No. 191,614

The present invention relates to crisper pan structure and more particularly to crisper pan structure comprising. a main crisper pan open atits top and adapted to be received beneath arglassshelf in a refrigerator, the shelf operatas a top closure for the main crisper pan, and an auxiliary crisper pan providedwith a separatehingedcover and having bottom, front and side Walls but being open at its rear, said auxiliary crisper pan being attached'to the front end of said main crisper pan whereby the front wall of said main crisper panserves as a rear wall or closure for the auxiliary crisper pan.

It is an object of the present invention to provide crisper pan structure. comprising a main crisper pan carrying a relatively small auxiliary cr rnan t its: ront end.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide combination a main and an auxiliary crisper pan, the auxiliary crisper pan having a separate hinged; closure therefor.

It is a furtherobject of the present invention to provide a main crisper pan having outwardly extending vertical flanges adjacent its front end,

an auxiliarycrisper pan having bottom, front and side walls, with the rear. edges of the side walls of the auxiliary crisper pan being secured tothe flan es of said main crisper pan.

It isafurther object of the present invention to provide a novel hinged support, for an auxliery crispe Dan.

A It; is a feature of the present inventionto providean auxiliary crisper pan composed of bottom, front and side walls, the side wallsrbeing provided; with pin receiving openings, adjacent their. upper rear corners a cover for said auxiliary crisper pan including. outwardly extending hinge pins adjacent its rear corners, the side walls. of said auxiliary crisper pan being relativ ly outw rdly m va le to re iv he hin e pins of the cover therebetween to extend outweirdly through the openings in the side walls of said auxiliary crisper pan, the side walls of said; auxiliary crisper pan being thereafter attached to a main crisper pan andretained thereby against relative outward movement.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a front elevational view of a refrigerator with the door removed, illustrating the locationofthe crisper pan structuretherein. Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 22, Figure l.

Figure ii is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view on the. line 3- 3 Figure:

Figure 4 is a vertical section on the line 4-4, Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged front elevational view 5 Claims. (Cl. 220-.-)

of the crisper pan structure removed from the refrigerator.

I Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 56, Figure 2.

Figure '7 is a, front elevational view of the main crisperpan with the auxiliary crisper pan removed.

' Figure 8 is an enlarged section on the line 88, Figure 4.

Referring now to the drawings, in Figure 1 there is illustrated a refrigerator In having, a large storage compartment l2 which includes a plurality of shelves l4 and a pair of crisper pan assemblies indicated generally at 20.

As best seen in Figure 2, the food storage compartment 12 includes a mounting for a transparent shelf 22 which extends from the rear of the compartment to a point'spaced substantially from the open front of the'compartment' and which extends substantially completely from side to side of the compartment. The crisper pan assembly comprises a main pan 24 having a. bottom wall 26, a front wall 28, a rear'wall 30, and side walls 32. The two crisper pans illustrated in Figure 1 are identical and the detailed description thereof will be limited to a single crisper pan. The transparent shelf 22, as best seen in Figure 6, issupported on top flanges 34 of side rails 36, the bottomflanges 38 of fthe rails supporting out-turned flanges 40 provided along the side walls 32 of the main crisper pan 2 Extending from front to rear of themain storage compartment is an intermediate rail structure comprising a pair of outwardly facing channels 42. The upper flanges M of channel members 42 constitute supports for the glass shelf 22 and the lowerflanges 46 constitute supports on which the out-turned flanges 4 0 of the main crisper pan 24 are slidably engaged. The front ends of the channels 42 are supported by-a post indicated generally at 48 in Figure, 1.

As previously-mentioned, the front edge of, the transparent glass shelf 22 terminates short of the front of the storage compartment 12. lhe main crisper pan 24'is of such length that when it is in the retracted position best illustrated in Figure 2, the transparent glass shelf 22 constie tutes a cover and partialclosure therefor.

According to the present invention an, auxiliary crisper pan indicated generally at. 5.0. provided. The auxiliary crisper pan comprises a bottom wall 52, a front, wall 514, and side walls.

56. The auxiliary crisper pan is open vatits rear.v

Located adjacent the front end of the main crisper pan 26 are a pair of verticaloutwardly extending flanges 60. The side Walls 56 of the auxiliary crisper pan 50, are provided with thickened ribs 52; having drilled threaded. Openings.

therein for the reception of screws 64 which extend through suitable openings 86 provided in the flanges 60 and into the threaded openings provided in the thickened ribs 62 of the auxiliary crisper pan. By means of this arrangement the auxiliary crisper pan 50 is closed at its rear, the front wall 28 of the main crisper pan thus serving as the rear wall of the auxiliary crisper pan.

The auxiliary crisper pan provides storage space for items which it is desired to retain in fresh crisp condition and it is necessary for this purpose to provide a top closure for the auxiliary crisper pan. In accomplishing this result a separate hinged cover I is provided for the auxiliary crisper pan which may be swung to the dotted line position best illustrated in Figure 2, toafford access to the interior of the auxiliary crisper pan, without the necessity of drawing the entire crisper pan structure forwardly. This renders it very easy to place and remove small items in theauxiliary crisper pan without the necessity of moving the complete structure.

The cover [0 comprises a transparent cover member 12 which may be formed of a suitable transparent plastic. As best seen in Figure 8 the transparent member 12 is provided with a pair of outwardly extending integral hinge pins 14 which constitute the pivot mounting for the cover. A metal trim strip 76 is provided which extends around the front and sides of the transparent cover member 12 and adjacent its rear ends, the strip 16 being provided with openings which permit the passage of the hinge pins 14 therethrough, as best seen in Figure 8. The side walls 56 of the auxiliary crisper pan include upwardly extending ears 18 as best seen in Figure 4, which are provided with openings adapted to receive pins M. The hinge may readily be mounted on the auxiliary crisper pan structure prior to attachment of the auxiliary crisper pan to the main crisper pan. The side walls 56 of the auxiliary crisper pan, and particularly the top rear corners thereof, may be moved outwardly away from each other, since the side walls are not interconnected at the rear of the auxiliary crisper pan by a rear wall. Thus the pins M may readily be introduced into the openings provided in the ears 18, thus providing an extremely simple hinge support for the cover 10. Thereafter, the auxiliary crisper pan is attached to the main crisper pan by bringing the rear edges of its side walls 56 into contact with the front surface of the flanges 60 on the main crisper pan. Fastening screws 64 are then inserted through the openings 66 in the flanges and are threaded into the openings rovided in the thickened ribs 62 formed in the side walls of the auxiliary crisper pan. Attachment-of the auxiliary crisper pan to the main crisper pan thus provides rigid support for the rear top corners of the side walls 56 of the auxiliary crisper pan and accordingly, serve to prevent disengagement between the hinge pins 14 and the hinge openings provided in the ears 18 adjacent the top rear corners of the side walls 56 of the auxiliary crisper pan.

7 The front wall 54 of the auxiliary crisper pan 50 includes a handle 80 by means of which the crisper pan assembly may be drawn forwardly to afiord access to the open top of the main crisper pan 24. The glass shelf 22 at this time remains stationary as previously described.

The drawings and the foregoing specification constitute a description of the improved crisper pan structure in such full, clear, concise and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, the scope of which is indicated by the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A crisper pan assembly comprising an open topped main pan including a front wall, an auxiliary pan having bottom, front and side walls and being open at its top and rear, fastening means securing the rear edges of the side walls of said auxiliary pan to the front of said main pan so that the front wall of said main pan constitutes a rear Wall for said auxiliary pan, the upper rear corner portions of the side walls of said auxiliary pan being laterally displaceable when said auxiliary pan is separated from said main pan, a cover for said auxiliary pan, and hinge means comprising hinge parts on the upper rear corner portions of the side walls of said auxiliary pan and adjacent the rear corners of said cover, said hinge parts including laterally overlapping portions engageable and disengageable by lateral displacement of the upper rear'corner portions of the side walls of said auxiliary pan when said auxiliary pan is separated from said main pan, said fastening means including connecting members located adjacent the top rear corners of said side walls to prevent lateral displacement of said overlapping hinge portions.

2. Structure as defined in claim 1 in which said hinge parts comprise pins and pin receiving openings.

3. Structure as defined in'claim l in which said hinge means comprise laterally outwardly extending pins on said cover and pin receiving openings in the upper rear corner portions of the side walls of said auxiliary pan.

4. Structure as defined in claim 3 in which said cover is formed of transparent material, and a trim strip extending along the front and side edges of said cover, said strip having openings adjacent its ends through which said pins extend to retain said trim strip in position.

5. Crisper pan structure comprising a main pan, an auxiliary pan open at its top and rear, said auxiliary pan being secured to the front wall of said main pan whereby the front wall of said main pan constitutes a rear wall for said auxiliary pan, a cover hinged to said auxiliary pan and including outwardly extending pins, the top rear portions of the side walls of said auxiliary pan having pin receiving openings therein, said cover being formed of transparent material, a metal strip extending around the front and both sides of said cover, said strip having openings through which said pins extend to thereby retain said strip in assembled position.

HARLAND W. WHITMORE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 414,702 Grimm Nov. 12, 1889 1,655,284 Nelson Jan. 3, 1928 1,825,464 Lopez Sept. 29, 1931 2,100,992 Woodhead et al. Nov. 30, 1937 2,309,217 Ruthenburg Jan. 26, 1943 2,338,889 Yoxsimer Jan. 11, 1944 2,350,463 Kallus June 6, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 18,821 Great Britain 1905 

